Netherland-based agritech firm Growy is investing in vertical farming in Singapore with its first vertical farm in Changi Logistics Centre. The farm is set to commence production in 2nd half of 2023 producing up to 500 tonnes of vegetables annually as part of its plan to support Singapore’s ‘30 by 30’ food security goal.
Growy aims to harvest a variety of leafy greens from microgreens to baby leaf salads and herbs at its 8,000 sq.metre vertical farm.
Earlier on 10 April, Growy signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with several leading institutions in the Netherlands and Singapore in research and development (R&D) of vertical farming. Ard van de Kreeke, Founder and CEO of Growy said, “The MoU builds a bridge between the Dutch renowned horticulture expertise and Singapore’s thriving food security R&D ecosystem. Linking these 2 knowledge powerhouses will result in an acceleration of indoor vertical farming in Singapore and beyond.”
Singapore aims to have 30% of the country’s nutritional needs produced by the local agri-industry by 2030 and this can be made possible via vertical farm, which occupies less space in land-scarce Singapore where farming involves growing produce in stacked layers upwards. Vertical farms are also able to produce crops year-round, due to the use of advanced technology to control all parameters of growth. As such, the production volume per sq.metre of space is much higher as compared to land farming,
For example, an urban farm, GroGrace is able to produce 33 tonnes of leafy greens annually in its tiny 650 sq.metre space in Jurong.
Growy, which also owns vertical farms in the Netherlands, Germany and Kuwait has chosen Singapore as the location for the company’s latest farm because of the support from local government agencies. For example, in 2020, the Singapore government offers close to S$40 million (US$30 million) in funding to support the growth of local agri-food enterprises.
Currently, Singapore’s agri-food industry employs about 2,000 people, and it is projected that 4,700 new and redesigned jobs will be created by 2030.
